Well, after listening the Manley Stingray and using the HE-500 on speaker taps, I feel like the DA8 pushes about 85-90% of what it's capable of. It's very, very close. A speaker amp will give you that last bit of micro detail, speed, and extension.

So you primarily run your HE500s through the integrated amp of the DA8?

Just unpacked my DA8 yesterday. In my excitement I forgot to switch over from 230v to 115v. It kept going into a protection cycle before the light went off in my head. After I switched to 115V, it was fine and sounds great. Do I need to worry at all?

Anyway, I also just received my new LCD-2 Rosewood Vegans. This is my first true head-fi experience. I am upgrading from a pair of Sennheiser HD595 running off a Pro-Ject Head Box S amp. Needless to say, I was not fully prepared for what I heard when I fired up the DA8/LCD-2 combo. All the clichés about songs I have heard hundreds of times sounding like I was really hearing them for the first time. Tight, clean, yet warm sound. Unbelievable! I cannot wait to spend more time with my Black Friday/Christmas come early gift to self!

I wouldn't be too concerned with it if you noticed it quickly. Cheers for your new toys! Something you may want to check out with your combo is TB Isone and Isone Surround. The plug-in has a free trial and is only $20 to purchase for life. I think you'll be shocked what it can do for the LCD-2 :)